Atom Red Wings one of two Schomberg teams standing in OMHAs

March 2, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
The Atom Schomberg Red Wings have continued right where they left off in the AE regular season, translating their success to the provincial level in the OMHA playoffs.
After falling behind two games to none in the first-to-six-points quarter-final series against the Newcastle Stars, the Wings were one game away from packing up and heading back to the York-Simcoe playdowns. Instead, they went the distance with a 3-0-1 record to follow and became one of two remaining hopefuls to bring a championship to Schomberg.
A tough, well-rested opponent awaited them in the semifinal series. Eight days passed between the Brighton Braves’ winning quarterfinal game and the start of their match-up with the Wings, having swept the Campbellford Colts in three games to enter as the favourite.
They brought their winning streak to four games on Saturday, handing the Wings a 4-2 loss on the road, with the action returning to Trisan Centre the following day.
It was a packed house for the late afternoon puck drop, with the Wings determined to give their home fans a show. Caleb Kokelj was lights-out in between the pipes, allowing just one goal in a lop-sided 5-1 game to hand Brighton their first taste of defeat.
Schomberg controlled the game from the start right to the final buzzer, up 1-0 at the end of the first period. Tristan Degli-Angeli made a nice end-to-end rush early in the second before crossing to Chase Coughlin who stuffed it home to make it 2-0, with Nathan Watt scoring from in close before the end of the frame for a 3-0 lead after two.
With ten minutes to go, Daniel Kloepfer picked up a mismanaged puck in the slot and had lots of time to find a corner, putting the game out of reach with a 4-0 score.
Coughlan closed out the scoring for Schomberg a few minutes later, using his size to fight off a defender and backhand it five-hole through the goaltender.
Kokelj, who made some big saves on three penalty kills in the third, was beaten only by a bad bounce off a Schomberg player that led to a fluky goal.
The team travels to Brighton on Friday for game three, the puck set to drop at 7:30 p.m. They invite the community to come cheer them on for game four Saturday back at Trisan Centre, with game time at 3:40 p.m.
The winner will face either the Ilderton Jets or Hanover Falcons in the OMHA finals.

Juveniles

The Juvenile Red Wings are the other squad still battling for the provincial title, looking to repeat as OMHA champions up 4-0 on the South Bruce Blades. They can book their ticket back to the finals on Friday, at 9:15 p.m. at Trisan Centre.
For schedules, visit www.schombergminorhockey.com.